Projects

This project aims to document, analyze and inventory the traditional ksour of the Gourara region, with a particular focus on Timimoun and its surroundings (Ouled Saïd, Tinerkouk, Guentour…).

These ancient fortified villages, built from adobe (banco), reflect a unique oasis-based social organization and a vernacular architectural know-how adapted to the extreme desert environment.

• Fieldwork campaigns with topographic surveys and photogrammetry (drone + AGISOFT)
• GIS mapping of existing and ruined ksour
• Interviews with residents, local leaders, and artisans
• Analysis of architectural typologies (streets, houses, mosques, communal granaries...)
• Compilation of a descriptive and photographic atlas for each ksar
• Inventory of threats (abandonment, rapid modernization, erosion, urban development)

This project is supported by researchers in architecture, desert anthropology, and photographers specialized in the Sahara. It is part of a broader effort to preserve oasis memory and ensure its transmission to future generations.